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Les Paul
By
Andrew Schiff
Throughout
history, education has usually placed emphasis on the teacher-student
relationship. Socrates taught Plato, Anne Sullivan taught Helen
Keller and other examples flood the history books. Modern education,
with its emphasis on classroom learning, has brought a new dynamic
to the student-teacher relationship. With such strong emphasis
on the teacher-student system, less attention has been centered
on self-education. Probably one of the greatest examples of success
in self education is that of the inventor Les Paul.
In the world of rock music, Les Paul, who was born Lester Polsfuss
in Waukesha, Wisconsin on June 9, 1915, is seen as an icon. He
not only invented the electric guitar— arguably the most important
invention in music history, at least in the twentieth century—he
also invented the guitar amplifier and sound effects such as reverb,
delay, chorus and flange. He also was the inventor of sound-on-sound
recording , a precursor to the multi-track recording used today.
Interestingly, Paul’s education, however, was not in a university
setting under the guidance of professors with doctoral degrees.
In fact, Paul never finished high school.
Paul’s formal education ended when he accepted an offer to join
virtuoso guitarist Joe Wolverton in Saint Louis to be part of
a musical duo (Paul, who also was a fabulous self-taught guitarist
in his own right, played harmonica in the duo). Prior to teaming
with Wolverton, Paul had actually replaced Wolverton in the very
jazz band he had been performing with. There he earned $12 a night,
outstripping the weekly $8 he would have earned doing neighborhood
chores. Because of his music talent, his guitar and the harmonica
playing virtually led him from the classroom to the ballroom.
“I
look back now and I say what I learned from actual experience,
I would have never learned in high school. That doesn’t sound
right, but in high school they didn’t teach music and I wouldn’t
have learned electronics; [besides] there is nothing like b$ing
taught where it’s hands –on.”
Paul’s curiosity led him from being merely a musician to being
someone interested in recording. Paul eventually took his stereo
and phonograph and turned it into a recording studio. Later, Paul
decided that he needed to learn more about electronics to improve
the sound of his recording. He journeyed to the local radio station
that was transmitting the songs he had heard on the radio. Paul
asked the engineer to teach him what he knew. So every Sunday
Paul would study with the engineer and would augment his learning
by going to the library and taking out books on electronics until
he became well versed in the field. Later, when he ran his own
recording studio during the 1940s, Paul would offer free recording
sessions in exchange for the opportunity to experiment with different
recording techniques. Some of his clients included Bing Crosby,
Billy Holiday, the Andrews Sisters and Dina Shore. He developed
a reputation as a great producer because of his willingness to
learn and experiment. By the early 1950s, Paul also released his
own material with his wife singer Mary Ford. Together they recorded
some of the greatest hits of the decade like “Vaya Con Dios,”
“How High the Moon,” and “Mockin’ Bird Hill.”
Regarding advice to parents, Paul has this to say: “Parents should
understand what their child is qualified to do. Today, you’ll
find a lot of young men in their late twenties and early thirties
who are still trying to figure out what to do with their lives.”
One of the keys to his success Paul says is that he knew early
on what he wanted to do and his mother was there to encourage
him. But he set realistic goals for himself as well.
“I
made sure that I didn’t set my sights so high that I would drop
it,” Paul said. “I am a believer; I knew what I was going to be
and set out to do that.”
When asked about the kind of things he would advise kids interested
in a particular field Paul said, “I know that they are going to
have to work hard. But I also know that you’ve got to love what
you do. You really have to love your job.”
One thing that fans of Les Paul have been doing for the past fifty
years is loving the job that Paul has done.#
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express
consent of the publisher. © 2002.
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